Essential Oils

What essential oils are, in plain words

Essential oils are concentrated plant extracts. Most are made by steam distillation: steam passes through flowers, leaves, wood or resin and carries the aromatic compounds with it. Citrus oils are usually cold pressed from the peel. One small bottle takes a lot of plant material, which is why lemon oil costs a few pounds and rose oil costs many times more.

These are aroma products, not food supplements, so we make no health claims about them. You use them in a diffuser, in a bath blend, or diluted in a base oil for massage. If you would rather take a plant ingredient by mouth, look at our capsules and drops with lavender in supplement form instead.

The forms differ more than the labels suggest

• Pure single oils: one plant, undiluted. The most flexible option, and the form we list with its botanical name so you know exactly which plant you have.
• Blends: several oils mixed for a consistent aroma. Convenient for diffusers, less useful if you like to mix your own.
• Pre-diluted roll-ons: already mixed into a base oil and ready for skin. A calm start if counting drops feels fiddly.
• Absolutes: extracted with solvents instead of steam, used for jasmine and rose. Heavier, longer-lasting scent, higher price.

Any skin use needs a base. Sweet almond, jojoba and coconut all work well, and you can browse our nourishing oils for skin to find one.

How we choose the oils we stock

We look at three things: the plant and its exact species, the strength you actually apply, and combinations that make sense together. That is why we name the species, not just "lavender": Lavandula angustifolia and spike lavender smell different and are used differently. We prefer suppliers who can show batch testing for each lot, and we avoid the phrase "therapeutic grade", because no authority defines it. Every product passes our compliance team before it goes live, we test products ourselves and independent labs spot-check batches. We also buy directly from the brands, with no intermediaries in between. You can read how we select brands and products.

Who these oils suit, and what to expect

Lavender, sweet orange and peppermint are sensible places to begin: widely used, easy to blend and inexpensive enough to experiment with. Cold-pressed citrus oils can make skin react to sunlight, so keep them off exposed skin for around twelve hours. Never apply an oil neat, patch test a new blend on your forearm first, and store bottles out of reach of children and pets.

Be realistic about the result. A well-chosen oil gives a clear, pleasant scent that can anchor a routine, for example an evening wind-down alongside the products in MIND + SLEEP. That is a genuine benefit, and it is also the limit of what we will promise. Citrus oils in particular lose their freshness within about a year of opening, so buy the size you will realistically finish and keep the cap on tight.